Woman wearing a black face mask spotted in Salisbury an HOUR before nerve agent attack sparks police hunt
A MASKED woman was spotted acting suspiciously in Salisbury an hour before the Skripals were found collapsed and convulsing, police say.
The dark-haired suspect was reportedly seen wearing a black face mask as she left a Pret a Manger, a three-minute walk from where Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, slumped unconscious after being hit by a deadly nerve agent.
It comes as the PM Theresa May said it was "highly likely" Russian agents were responsible.
reports that Mark Francis, a car dealer, who reported seeing the mystery masked woman on Wednesday
Mr Francis, 50, said he initially thought nothing of the black mask because it was similar to those commonly seen after the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in 2002 and sometimes worn by visitors from Asia.
But after news broke of the assassination attempt he called the police.
Mr Francis, 50, said: “We were in the town centre in Pret a Manger. We were in there at 3.35pm and I was sitting by the door and this lady walked out at 3.40pm.
“She was wearing a Sars mask, a black Sars mask tucked around her chin and a bag in her hand.
“It was really odd as you don’t often see someone wearing a Sars mask in Salisbury.
“We don’t get smog or pollution. When it became a chemical attack it sounded more likely that it could be significant.”
What we know so far:
- Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on Sunday
- Police say they were deliberately targeted with a rare nerve agent
- Cops cordoned off his house and the grave of his wife and son fearing others could be exposed to the poison
- A former KGB spook claims he was told his life was in danger along with poisoned spy Sergei Skripal - but he dismissed the warning as a "joke
- Cops are looking for a woman who walked around Salisbury in a black face mask just one hour before Skripal was attacked
- 500 people were told to wash their clothes, phones, and glasses after possibly coming into contact with the nerve agent
- Theresa May accused Russia of poisoning Skripal using deadly nerve agent novichok
- The first Wiltshire cop on the scene is also ill in hospital - but hopes were raised for his recovery now he is awake and talking
- Theresa May has vowed revenge on Putin over the 'hit'
- Russian state TV warned 'traitor' double-agents they are not safe in the UK
- It was revealed Sergei's MI6 contact had links to poisoned ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko
16Investigators in hazmat suits examine a van in the villageCredit: PA:Press Association Meanwhile other witnesses reported seeing a “strange” and “threatening” figure - clothed all in black - but this time it was thought to be a man and he had his nose and mouth shrouded from view.
He was seen on the same day as the woman.
And he was spotted just 100 yards from the bench where the stricken father and daughter were found.
One key eyewitness reported the sighting to cops and was later asked to give a statement.
The man, a pest control expert, said he had been out for Sunday lunch with his partner and his parents across the street shortly after 3pm.
16Police officers erect a barrier on the upper level of a Sainsbury's supermarket car park as it is cordoned off, opposite the park bench where Sergei Skripal was foundCredit: Getty Images - Getty At the time Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, are believed to have been drinking in The Mill pub.
They emerged at about 4pm and were found on a bench, unconscious and poisoned soon after.
The witness said: "We all left together at 3pm and we were walking back into the Maltings [the shopping centre where the Skripals collapsed] to go back to our car when we all saw this man looking very strange and suspicious walking towards us.
"He had on black skinny jeans, a black hoodie pulled up over his head and he had this strange looking mask over his face.
“It had black with a white pattern on it.
"You could only see his dark eyes and forehead.
"He had a dark complexion.
"He looked threatening and aggressive and he was walking towards us with purpose.
"He gave me a stern look as he passed us by The Works which is about 100 yards from the bench where they found the Russians."
16Army chemical weapons experts and the police swarmed on sleepy Winterslow todayCredit: PA:Press Association Earlier today army chemical weapons experts and police in hazmat suits set up roadblocks round a village in Wiltshire today as the Russian spy probe widened.
A swarm of activity could be seen in Winterslow about eight miles from Salisbury.
It has not yet been confirmed if the dramatic lockdown is related to the ongoing investigation into the suspected Kremlin hit on March 4.
A local resident told Spire FM: "I've been told they are investigating a situation a few doors from me and may be bringing in a low loader shortly to remove something."
Police and Army teams were at a site this afternoon where a white van was loaded on a military lorry ready to be taken away.
Postmaster Bella Thomas described the scenes as "like the Twilight Zone".
16Police and at least one ambulance were seen in a residential street in the village 
16Medics and military personnel at work today in WinterslowCredit: AP:Associated Press 
16Officers have set up roadblocks as the Russia spy probe widensCredit: PA:Press Association 
16A huge Army lorry was brought in to remove the white vanCredit: AFP or licensors 
16Experts are examining a number of sites feared to be contaminated with a Soviet-era nerve agent She : "Two roads are shut off, they are closed. Police and army are down there.
"There are wearing hamzat suits. I've heard they are removing a vehicle.
"Because of our proximity to Salisbury and we obviously all know what's been going on there, we have linked what's going on here with that.
"It's the gossip of the village. It's all anyone is talking about in the shop today."
the van belongs to a vehicle recovery firm that may have towed Sergei Skripal's BMW 3 Series after his collapse.
It came as police sealed off a Sainsbury's car park in Salisbury where witnesses said two helicopters were circling above.
In recent days the Army has removed a number of police cars and an ambulance over contamination fears.
Convoys of army loaders escorted by police motorbikes have been seen driving vehicles out of Salisbury towards the Porton Down bio-warfare lab.
16Two police cars block the entrance to Sainsbury's car park in Salisbury todayCredit: PA:Press Association This afternoon Theresa May updated MPs on the investigation after a briefing by police and intelligence chiefs at a meeting of the National Security Council in Downing Street.
She said it was "highly likely" the Kremlin was responsible for the attack against Sergei Skripal using a nerve agent called novichok.
She also said Russia's ambassador had been summoned to the Foreign Office to explain whether the Salisbury attack was "a direct action by the Russian state" or the result of the Russian Government "losing control" of its stock of nerve agents.
Novichok - Russian for newcomer - was the name of a series of deadly chemicals developed by Soviet scientists in the 1970s and 80s. They are said to be at least five times more potent than VX.
Earlier Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said the attack looked "awfully like it was state-sponsored attempted murder".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he would be surprised if Mrs May "did not point the finger at the Kremlin".
Ahead of the Prime Minister's statement, Downing Street said: "If we get to a position when we are able to attribute this attack then we will do so."
PM Theresa May confirms that Russia is 'highly likely' to have carried out the attack on former spy Sergei Skripal Salisbury using military-grade nerve agent
16Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, on a previous visit to Zizzi in Salisbury 
16Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found collapsed on a bench in Salisbury on March 4Credit: AFP 
16Army experts were yesterday seen removing a car linked to the nerve agent probeCredit: EPA 
16A cemetery where Skripal's wife and son are buried has also been investigatedCredit: Reuters The Kremlin has denied any involvement of the Russian government in the nerve agent attack on the Skripals.
Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told the Press Association: "We consider inappropriate any mention of the Russian government in the context of what happened to Sergei Skripal.
"We have nothing to do with the story."
Former MI6 double agent Skripal and his daughter remain critically ill in hospital eight days after they were found collapsed on a bench in the Wiltshire city.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey is in a serious but stable condition in the Salisbury District Hospital, where he is said to be conscious and talking.
16A Zizzi restaurant where Skripal and his daughter had lunch has been sealed offCredit: AP:Associated Press 
16Diners and pub-goers who were at The Mill that day have been warned to wash their clothesCredit: Reuters Yesterday, hundreds of diners and pub-goers were urged to wash clothes and phones a week after potentially coming into contact with the nerve agent.
The "precautionary advice" was issued after traces of the substance were found in The Mill pub and the nearby Zizzi restaurant.
The Tory leader of Salisbury City Council, Matthew Dean, insisted the warning was issued quickly enough after criticism from city residents.
He told the BBC: "Consistently the advice has been that this is a very, very precautionary approach and that they are advising that people wash their clothes because they don't want people to come into prolonged contact."
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